


Friends in Low Places

by xel



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 16:24:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8851852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xel/pseuds/xel
Summary: The perplexing relationship between Overwatch operative Hana Song and a 'hacker friend' she calls on to help them raises a couple of eyebrows, to say the least.
   "You can call me Sombra," she says. A pause. Hana doesn't really want to call her anything. Mostly wants to not be a sitting duck, wants the red warning light flashing in her retinas, telling her the MEKA is close to critical damage, to turn off. Wants to help her teammate, ACE. "You look like you're in a bind there, mija."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Before Sombra was revealed I really liked the idea of D.Va/Sombra as a possible romantic pairing. 
> 
> Now that Sombra is out, the age differences between the two make me a little too hesitant to actually ship it (not so much the gap itself, more as the fact that D.Va is 19 and I’d have an exceptionally hard time shipping her with anyone older than maybe mid-20s, personally.) But I still think a platonic relationship between the two is completely viable, and I’m sooooo behind it. 
> 
> All of my ship-y writing reads ambiguously anyway; but yeah! Have some platonic sombva!

 

Hana really hadn't had a clue about the underside of the Internet.

She’d had light brushes with it, because of her job, because of the people she talked to and were friends with. She knew, if she were really interested, she’d have no problem getting there.

It’s not hard to get anywhere on the Internet, if you follow the right rabbit hole.

_It’s harder to find the tangible host of a place_ , D.Va’s virtual teammates had told her, when she'd prodded curiously a couple times. Even if something shady or downright illegal were going down and the authorities knew about it, could see it on their holopads, what were they going to do if they couldn't trace it?

The conversations had usually died off at that point, D.Va hadn't ever asked much more about it. At the time, it hadn’t mattered.

As a pro video-gamer she wasn't interested in cheats, hacks ... buying illegal weaponry (at some point, one leads to the other, leads to another. That’s how rabbit holes work).

The tournament committees handled security in competitive games, and she'd always taken basic preventative steps on her own computer.

Because she's not stupid, anyone with half a brain wants to be mildly protected from fuckheads, especially when _everything_ is at least half machine.

She’d been famous, and sometimes things leaked through and leaked out. (Things she wishes hadn't: the photos she sent to her ex, the details of her twin brother’s murder. People aren't great, and that type of information appeals to the sensationalism media outlets are always sniffing around for, even if it's obtained unscrupulously by hackers). Still, nothing detrimental.

From a big picture standpoint, a pro video-gamer isn’t worth much as a cyber target.

 

* * *

 

When she gets into the MEKA program, the first thing they do is send her off to take some training courses. A few on first aid, fitness, grief management, a couple others, and cyber security - they’re fighting omnics, after all - but hackers and intelligence seekers are also a considerable threat in any type of war.

From a big picture standpoint, a highly trained solider in a state-of-the-art mech suit is worth substantially more to a cyber attacker.

 

* * *

 

 

Later (just after she leaves the MEKA program and high-tails it north to weasel her way into the Overwatch recall) she's told the difference between an omnic's cyber attacks and a hacker's is that an omnic lives in the cyber realm and manipulates the tangible one.

And a hacker is the exact opposite.

The information had come from a hacker friend who'd tried to half-ass explain it to her, and failed tragically…

 

* * *

 

The first time _Sombra_ introduces herself to Hana Song it is three months before Hana leaves the MEKA program. It is also smack in the middle of a DoS attack on said MEKA which leaves her stranded and shutdown mid-fight against an omnic mini army on the shores of South Korea.

DoS attacks don’t usually affect the MEKA, and when D.Va knows they’re coming, she’s been trained on how to reroute the influx of commands (and  instructed to turn off her streams, which is honestly just the worst). This time, the digital defenses installed in her MEKA are ineffective - the omnics are stronger, and corrupted, and the God program which drives them mindlessly forward is not unlike a biological virus, latching on to everything and distorting it; controlling it.

"Hola," says Sombra, her voice jarring and unexpected in D.Va's headset, slightly distorted (or maybe very distorted, there's no way of knowing how much it is being altered). Hana's hands fall from her joysticks, her heart jackhammers in her chest - in part because of the unexpected noise, in part because when faced with failure and possible death, sometimes there's no other way for the body to respond -  and she looks around for a person who isn't there.

"Who is this?" Hana demands, is surprised when an answer comes.

"You can call me Sombra," she says. A pause. Hana doesn't really want to call her anything. Mostly wants to not be a sitting duck, wants the red warning light flashing in her retinas, telling her the MEKA is close to critical damage, to turn off. Wants to help her teammate, ACE. "You look like you're in a bind there, mija." Hana doesn't have the patience or the levelheadedness to respond at this particular moment.

Sombra doesn't really need a response, turns out. She jabbers on and on about how fortunate D.Va is that she happened to be around, about it being her lucky day. Frazzled and scared, but not at all stupid, Hana stops her.

"It's not a coincidence you're lookin in my MEKA's data, I know you're looking for something-" she shouts. Stops. "That's not important right now; you're here. Can you get it running again?"

Sombra shuts up for a second, and then chuckles, it resonates in D.Va’s headset.

“Oooh~” she says, “I like you, chika.” D.Va’s control panel lights back up, the control sticks unlock.

Hana’s doesn't question it, is already back in the fray, the MEKA is damaged and will definitely collapse if this fight lasts any longer, but hopefully it won't.

There are priorities. That's what a solider does during a battle, they prioritize: ACE is already out of his MEKA (it's smoking and collapsed to her right) and is running for cover. Priority. She floors it to him, defense matrix up. No one will die here. No one will die if Hana can help it. When she's to him and he's momentarily safe she breathes heavy and relieved. Her attention briefly goes back to the person talking in her ear. 

"...What are you looking for?" D.Va asks Sombra, "How long have you been snooping in the MEKA program?"

“Off and on for a couple of days," Sombra drawls, casually, as though leaning languidly in a chair. Hana imagines a woman, her feet propped up on a desk in a dark room half way across the world, in Mexico - the face hazy. "and if you're really curious - I was just looking for some schematics. I’ve got a … buddy … who’s interested in them.” Hana rolls her eyes, turns her full attention back to the fight.

“You and your buddy can fuck right off,” Hana says.

Her defense matrix power is falling, ACE is desperately shooting from behind it; things are not going well. The Korean government will not send out reinforcements for two MEKA pilots under such dire circumstances. It would be strategically unwise.

"That's not very nice," says Sombra, "I just saved your life."

"Or delayed my death," D.Va mutters, doesn't think that Sombra can hear her, doesn't really care; the matrix sputters out. She jumps in front of ACE because she can, because he's important, but it won't matter in a minute. The MEKA can't take anymore damage.

When it seems the battle is all but lost, the omnics suddenly shutter and stop. There are twelve of them, and every single one is lights out.

“You’re being very rude, amiga,” says Sombra, something like a smirk carries in her voice. "I'm trying to have a conversation with you and you're totally blowing me off." D.Va blinks.

“What happened?”

She hears Sombra chuckle in her headset.

“I accept payment in all forms," says Sombra in response, "cash, information … a thank you.”

“You stopped them?”

“We’re all friends here, aren’t we?” Sombra says. “Let’s talk again soon Hana Song; I have so much I want to know about you.”

“Don’t be creepy,” mutters Hana, feeling drained and confused and a little annoyed.

“Rude,” Sombra repeats, disconnecting the channel.

A moment later, a purple screen pops up on her visor and presents the three payment option. Hana glares at it, tries to exit out, can’t - does not have control of her MEKA. Picking the less of three evils, she begrudgingly presses the “thank you!” option.

Another pop up:

“you’re welcome ;)”

And then the MEKA alarms go off and the mechanical AI says, to D.Va's extreme exasperation: _"breach in system; unauthorized data files exported"_

Hana grumbles and gets out of the MEKA. She knows it's a big deal, knows it's a huge problem (doesn't know, can't know, that it's a big enough problem that it will get her kicked out of the program, though that comes, too), but right now there's something more important than the data or Sombra.

“You okay?” She asks ACE. He’s a mess, his hair is disheveled and he’s bleeding from the arm, but he gives her a thumbs up, grins stupidly and Hana is so relieved she almost doesn’t regret Sombra’s interference.

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for some weird tense changes; I hope it makes sense. Also, I don't know how many chapters this'll be - but not many, just enough to poke around with Hana and Sombra's characters ;)
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! Those are always much appreciated!


End file.
